MetalSymphony
Banned
Marzgurl of at Thatguywiththeglasses.com has put up a video discussion the state of the industry and who's to blame.
Check it out an lets see what ya think about it
Check it out an lets see what ya think about it
Editorial on the sate of the anime industry
- Thread starter MetalSymphony
- Start date
Skyknight
Lurker
I agree with her assement...we've got to bring back the cyber-punk surrealism and "grounded" animes of the MANGA VIDEO days, with the occasionally "pervy" and over-the-top action/adventure comedies.
Any new audiences should be subjected to Golgo 13, Crying Freeman, The original Guyver, Dominion Tank Police, Escflowne, Armitage, Keiko, Castle In The Sky etc...bring back the stuff that makes you THINK.
Any new audiences should be subjected to Golgo 13, Crying Freeman, The original Guyver, Dominion Tank Police, Escflowne, Armitage, Keiko, Castle In The Sky etc...bring back the stuff that makes you THINK.
Skinwalker
Member
She has some good points... But it's everyone's fault really. The industry in Japan continues to churn out low quality products, the western distributors put it out (sometimes bringing in more issues) and the public in the East and the West continue to eat it all up. With the right team behind it, the right marketing and the right distribution, there CAN be a place for higher standards, and more creativity, originality, and 'maturity' (not just anything grim and dark).
It is important that on the rare occasions we do see a high quality series come out, that it gets the popularity it needs from the marketing and even from word of mouth. One recent example was Monster, which got a fairly quiet fanbase but most people acquired it illegitimately (and had to in some cases)...
It's most important IMO that the medium doesn't get stale and keeps some variety; and more creators get a chance to bring something new to the fans' attention. There are more Masamune Shirows, more Masaaki Yuasas, more Satoshi Kons out there, they just need a chance.
As for the piracy, it's sad that these companies are suffering, it's sad that people always pirate no matter what, it's sad that anime DVDs are often expensive to buy. But sometimes there's other issues. When one of my favourite anime series was released on DVD here, it was censored, cutting chunks out of at least one of the best episodes of the series. Another of my favourites has never been licensed, in the US or the UK.
It is important that on the rare occasions we do see a high quality series come out, that it gets the popularity it needs from the marketing and even from word of mouth. One recent example was Monster, which got a fairly quiet fanbase but most people acquired it illegitimately (and had to in some cases)...
It's most important IMO that the medium doesn't get stale and keeps some variety; and more creators get a chance to bring something new to the fans' attention. There are more Masamune Shirows, more Masaaki Yuasas, more Satoshi Kons out there, they just need a chance.
As for the piracy, it's sad that these companies are suffering, it's sad that people always pirate no matter what, it's sad that anime DVDs are often expensive to buy. But sometimes there's other issues. When one of my favourite anime series was released on DVD here, it was censored, cutting chunks out of at least one of the best episodes of the series. Another of my favourites has never been licensed, in the US or the UK.
Sage Shinigami
Member
Does it amount to more than "LOL piratefags are killing the industry"? That, and telling us we need the stuff from the 80's again? (I would like cooler mecha anime though.)
These discussions are nice, but rarely do they go anywhere because someone's always got some point they want to harp on (Its piracy, the anime all sucks) to the exclusion of everything else, and it hurts the discussion.
I didn't like Monster.
And there's the problem. What constitutes a "good" series? The proper thing to do is to market everything as best you can, and what sells continues to be marketed, what does not, well...
These discussions are nice, but rarely do they go anywhere because someone's always got some point they want to harp on (Its piracy, the anime all sucks) to the exclusion of everything else, and it hurts the discussion.
I didn't like Monster.
And there's the problem. What constitutes a "good" series? The proper thing to do is to market everything as best you can, and what sells continues to be marketed, what does not, well...
MetalSymphony
Banned
Yeah, its not just pirates or fansub DL'ers (though they are the usual targets the Industry goes after), it's changing tastes and need to adapt to meet those tastes to survive.
Sadly, the two genre's that are in demand right now are character-based Moe and Ecchi series, both of witch can be cheaply produced and marketed to death. Just look at the juggernaut that is K-ON!, not only do it's DVD's sell out well in advance, people are FISTFIGHTING over specific figures in stores and the rest of it's merch sells insanely well.
The truly sad part it that the target age group for these series is NOT the usual 6-14 crowd, but men in their 20's - 40's who can buy up as much crap with their favorite characters face on it as they can, as is the point of Character based series is to get the viewer very "Emotionally Invested" in one of them almost to the point of obsession.
Sadly, the two genre's that are in demand right now are character-based Moe and Ecchi series, both of witch can be cheaply produced and marketed to death. Just look at the juggernaut that is K-ON!, not only do it's DVD's sell out well in advance, people are FISTFIGHTING over specific figures in stores and the rest of it's merch sells insanely well.
The truly sad part it that the target age group for these series is NOT the usual 6-14 crowd, but men in their 20's - 40's who can buy up as much crap with their favorite characters face on it as they can, as is the point of Character based series is to get the viewer very "Emotionally Invested" in one of them almost to the point of obsession.
KingRanger
Banned
If you are downloading fansubs of licensed anime you ARE hurting the industry.
Skinwalker
Member
Me neither, but it was still a clearly well written series.
If you are buying 47 volumes of Naruto you are hurting the industry.
KingRanger
Banned
Buying licensed stuff doesn't hurt the industry.
bigone
Senshi no Hikari
no if is own by funimation download the fansubbed stuff i hate Funi so god dam much ripping down all they licensed stuff
hurt funimation support the Japanese Industry Gonzo is about to if stuuf is owned my Gonzo or Studio bones IMPORT to help two young anime studios survive
Lynxara
Nice post!!
Neither Gonzo nor BONES is young at this point. Gonzo is roughly 15 years old, BONES roughly ten. Both studios were founded by industry veterans who were ready to go their own way (of GAINAX and Sunrise, respectively).
Personally I feel Gonzo deserves no support whatsoever, because the studio was founded for abominable reasons. The founders of Gonzo left GAINAX explicitly because they felt GAINAX was missing out on commercial opportunities by refusing to produce more shows per season at lower levels of quality.
Gonzo occasionally produces a classy series every now and then, but if you look at the bulk of its production credits it's trashy, poorly-made series of the sort that helped ignite the now-embarrassing boom for anime that run on pure crass fanservice.
I feel BONES does deserve fan support, but international licensing brings pride and prestige to a studio. BONES's success with officially licensed versions of its products in the West has helped keep the studio alive. If you support officially licensed Fullmetal Alchemist or other BONES projects in the US, you are supporting BONES just as much as if you buy Japanese-made goods.
Personally I feel Gonzo deserves no support whatsoever, because the studio was founded for abominable reasons. The founders of Gonzo left GAINAX explicitly because they felt GAINAX was missing out on commercial opportunities by refusing to produce more shows per season at lower levels of quality.
Gonzo occasionally produces a classy series every now and then, but if you look at the bulk of its production credits it's trashy, poorly-made series of the sort that helped ignite the now-embarrassing boom for anime that run on pure crass fanservice.
I feel BONES does deserve fan support, but international licensing brings pride and prestige to a studio. BONES's success with officially licensed versions of its products in the West has helped keep the studio alive. If you support officially licensed Fullmetal Alchemist or other BONES projects in the US, you are supporting BONES just as much as if you buy Japanese-made goods.
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